Market Jolt After the Fed- Rotation Over Rally?

Big swings, sector rotation, and what traders are watching next

Markets delivered exactly what was forecasted: higher volatility. Following a relatively neutral start, equities rallied sharply after the FOMC meeting midweek before pulling back into Friday. While the S&P 500 struggled near prior highs, broader indices quietly broke out—with the Dow, Russell 2000, and S&P 500 Equal Weight all printing fresh all-time highs.

Volatility was driven by a dovish-leaning Fed, rising long-term yields, and renewed concerns around AI infrastructure spending, sparked by Oracle’s earnings and elevated CapEx guidance. Strong economic data and bullish seasonality remain supportive, but tech leadership is wobbling—forcing markets into a rotation-driven tug of war rather than a clean trend higher.

TLDR Stock Market Weekly Update - December 12, 2025

📉 Market Trends

  • Rotation Over Concentration: Mega-cap tech showed weakness while equal-weight and small caps outperformed, signaling healthier internal market structure.

  • AI Spending Scrutiny: Oracle’s jump in FY26 CapEx from $35B → $50B revived fears of AI overinvestment, weighing on semis and momentum stocks.

  • Seasonality + Performance Chasing: Bullish year-end seasonality and potential Q4 performance chasing remain supportive tailwinds.

📊 Technical Levels & Market Signals

  • S&P 500 Equal Weight (SPXEW):

    • Broke above ~7,800 resistance to fresh all-time highs

    • Key level to hold next week: 7,800

    • Near-term bias: Bullish if breakout holds

  • Mega-Cap Tech:

    • Near-term fragile as AI narratives cool

    • Underperformance could persist without renewed catalysts

💰 Economic Data, Rates & the Fed

  • FOMC Takeaway:

    • Fed cut rates by 25 bps (3.50–3.75%)

    • Dot plot now implies fewer future cuts, but stronger growth outlook

    • Market read the meeting as dovish overall

  • Labor & Growth Signals:

    • JOLTs surprised higher → tighter labor conditions

    • GDPNow revised up to 3.6%, reinforcing growth resilience

  • Rates:

    • Yield curve steepened

    • 30-year yields hit 3-month highs, pressuring tech valuations

Sources: Charles Schwab

📅 Coming up next week…

Economic Events:

  • Mon (12/15): Empire State Manufacturing, NAHB Housing Market Index

  • Tue (12/16): Nonfarm Payrolls, Retail Sales, Unemployment Rate, Housing Starts, Industrial Production

  • Wed (12/17): MBA Mortgage Applications, EIA Crude Oil Inventories, Business Inventories

  • Thu (12/18): CPI, Jobless Claims, Philadelphia Fed Index, BOJ Rate Decision

Notable Earnings Reports:

  • Mon (12/15): NAVN, USAU

  • Tue (12/16): LEN, DLTH

  • Wed (12/17): MU, GIS, JBL, VERU

  • Thu (12/18): NKE, FDX, ACN, FCEL, BB

  • Fri (12/19): CCL, PAYX, WGO

Sources: Earnings Whispers, Charles Schwab

LULU $204.97

  • This stock finally rallied this week after reporting Q3 beat, announcing a CEO succession plan and authorizing an increase to its share buyback program.

  • Leaning cautiously bullish on this name. The stock had been in a long-term downtrend well below 200SMA. The KL to watch is the $205s gap level on the daily.

  • If the stock can hold above KL and consolidate, I would look for potential trend join long towards the 200SMA area.

  • This is purely a technical swing trade idea.

  • Position Disclosure: No position

 

ORCL 189.97

  • Stock gapped down after reporting softer-than-expected guidance and news of data center potential delays.

  • Short-term, if AI infrastructure headline risk persists and the stock cracks the $190s key area, it could flush another leg down to fill that daily gap.

  • The KL to watch is the multi-month daily support around $190s. If this KL breaks down, the stock has room towards $175, $170s, and potentially lower.

  • This is purely a technical day trade idea.

  • Position Disclosure: No position

‎‎

CRM $262.23

  • This stock has been in a long-term downtrend since February of this year.

  • It’s broken out of the daily 200SMA for the first time after a recent Q3 earnings report.

  • I’m cautiously watching this as a potential long swing idea. The KL I’m watching is the $260s area on the daily.

  • As long as the stock can hold the KL and consolidate above the 200 SMA, I’m looking to join the trend reversal to the upside.

  • However, if the stock fails to hold KL, then it has quite a bit downside to retrace back towards $250. Then it’s no longer a valid long thesis.

  • This is a technical swing trade for me.

  • Position Disclosure: No position.

🗞️ Market movers you might’ve missed:

- Lululemon Athletica Inc. ($LULU) Lululemon shares are trading higher after the company beat Q3 estimates, raised full-year guidance, announced a CEO succession plan and authorized an increase to its share buyback program.
- How we traded: Backside Long Strategy

- Carvana Co ($CVNA) CVNA Stock Jumps 10% Premarket As Carvana Set To Enter S&P 500.
- How we traded: Trend Join Long Strategy

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